Aftermath
by Samantha7425
Summary: Five years ago, Katie Bell and Angelina Johnson were young and in love. But that was before the war ended one of their lives forever. Now, only one of them is left, searching for her long-lost perfect life. Katie/Angelina with a side of George/Angelina.


**AN: This was written for _A Sirius crush on Moony_'s "Slash/Femslash along with a Magical Creature" challenge! My pairing is Katie/Angelina, and my magical creature is a centaur! **

5 Years Earlier

_"Homework is boring," Katie Bell declared, slamming her Care of Magical Creatures textbook shut. "Can't we just enjoy the sunshine for once?"_

_Angelina just rolled her eyes. "The sooner we finish, the sooner we can relax."_

_Ignoring her girlfriend of only a few weeks, the blonde Gryffindor rolled over onto her back, using her textbook as a pillow. She laced her fingers in the grass lazily, and admired the canopy of trees overhead. There was no place she'd rather be than right there, laying on the ground just under the Willow tree their initials were carved in with the person she loved more than anything in the world._

_A few peaceful minutes passed, where the only thing that could be heard was laughter in the distance, birds in the trees, and the scratch of Angelina's quill as she outlined her Potions essay. But then the elder Gryffindor made the grave mistake of glancing over at her girlfriend. More than slightly mesmerized by blonde hair splayed out on the grass around Katie's head, her cute freckles that got even more noticeable in the sunlight, and that sweet little smile on her lips, Angelina found herself pushing her essay away and laying down too._

_"You're a terrible influence on me, I hope you know."_

_Katie grinned and laced their fingers together. "I do know."_

_"So what chapter did you have to read that had you so bored out of your mind?"_

_"Chapter 23: Centuars," Katie responded dully. Angelina raised an eyebrow in confusion._

_"I thought fifth years only covered chapters one through 20?"_

_"Professor Hagrid has decided that centaurs are too important to wait for next year," Katie said, disdain clear in her voice. "I don't see why they're such a big deal though."_

_"Katie, centaurs are super powerful. They can tell the future!"_

_"No, they can't. They "interpret" the stars, but they never give anyone a straightforward answer."_

_Angelina laughed and turned onto her side so she could properly enjoy the view of her girlfriend. "Have you ever even met one? I've heard they're pretty wise."_

_"No, but Harry told me all about the ones he's met in the forest," she answered, eyes still closed. "They just sound so pretentious."_

_Angelina hummed in agreement, and reached over to gently stroke the blonde's side through her grass-stained uniform shirt. Katie, ever the talker, prattled on despite the lack of response._

_"Not to mention that they're actually pretty violent," she continued. "They're much more likely to kill you than help you."_

_Angelina had heard differently, but she didn't bother voicing her opinion. No need to start an argument. Comfortable silence fell again._

_Katie plucked a dandelion thoughtfully, silently wondering just how on Earth she got so lucky. "Life is kind of perfect, isn't it?"_

_Angelina grinned. "Yeah. Yeah it is."_

Present Day

It wasn't hard to find their old tree. It looked the same- completely unchanged. Angelina approached the trunk slowly, eyes searching for the little engraving she knew was there somewhere. Ah! There it was.

_Katie+Angelina Forever_

Tears sprung to her eyes immediately. Why had she wanted to come back anyway? Oh, but she knew why. Two years had passed since that day, but she still missed her every single day. It wasn't fair that she was gone. Katie had loved peace; she never wanted to fight. She hadn't had much of a choice though- Angelina knew the second she decided to go back to Hogwarts and fight that Katie would demand to come too.

The former Gryffindor fell to her knees abruptly. She couldn't live like this. Constantly missing the love of her life got old really quickly. How could she continue going on without her better half? It was almost like she had died that day too. Thinking back on the past two years of her life, she couldn't remember a single time she was happy. Try as she might, she was nothing without Katie Bell.

The tears fell in rivers down her face, but she paid them no heed. Instead, she reached over to the base of the trunk to set down the bouquet she had brought with her. A dandelion bouquet. Katie had loved the little yellow weeds, and Angelina had too by default.

Privately, Angelina thought of this spot as Katie's _real _final resting place. That tombstone in a graveyard full of strangers wasn't Katie. But this tree-strong, beautiful, and the embodiment of peace-_this_ was Katie.

The sun was beginning to set, so the distraught woman forced herself to get up. Katie wouldn't have wanted her wallowing in sadness forever, would she? In fact, Angelina realized, Katie would want her to be happy no matter what. So it was with that in mind that she wiped the tears off her face, and slowly made her way up to Hogwarts castle.

A tell redheaded figure waved to her, and she gave him a small smile. George Weasley knew how it felt to lose the person closest to you, and he wanted her to be happy too. He bundled her up in a tight hug the second she reached him, and she fought to hold back the tears. She had to try and be happy now, for his sake. For some odd reason, he loved her, and he deserved the best.

They parted, but kept their hands together.

"George?"

"Yeah, Ange?"

A bird chirped overhead, and Angelina smiled. "I think... maybe life could be perfect again soon."


End file.
